Rise Kujikawa x Male Reader
by NowaruSama
Summary: Rise Kujikawa, the extremely popular high school idol starts to attend your school. Will you manage to grow a friendship with her, or perhaps, something more?
1. Chapter 1

You arrive in class. It's just another regular day of school. You sit down and begin making sure that your assigned homework is done. You don't want to have the teachers scold you, especially since you're one of the smarter kids in your class. There's been a rumor that a new girl will be attending your class, which really gets you thinking. Rise Kujikawa, the extremely popular idol that also just happens to be your age. In your mind, you are hoping that she is that girl that the rumors are talking about, since she did move to Inaba not too long ago. But there's no way that would happen.

Pushing that thought out of your mind, you get out your things as the teacher enters the room but leaves the door open.

Teacher: "Hello students! As you may have heard, today we have a brand new student that will be attending our class."

The teacher makes a hand motion towards the door, and through the door enters a girl with beautiful copper colored hair and rich brown eyes. And your heart skips a beat.

Teacher: "This is Rise Kujikawa. Some of you might already know her, but go ahead and introduce yourself anyway, Kujikawa-san."

Rise: "Hey everyone! I'm Rise Kujikawa! I've decided to spend some time here in Inaba, so I'll be attending this school for a while. I hope to get along with all of you!"

After she says that, Rise gives a slight bow, and I can see every male person in the room being instantly entranced by her.

Teacher: "Anyways, you can go and seat over there, next to y/n-kun."

The teacher points at the vacant seat next to you... and your heart begins to race faster, even though you never thought that would be possible. Rise quickly sits herself down and gets out her stuff aswell, the teacher beginning to start the lesson as if nothing ever happened.

Teacher: "Anyways, we must get Kujikawa-san caught up. y/n-kun, would you mind sharing your notes with her?"

y/n: "M-Me? Ummm... O-Of course!"

You grab your notebook and hand it over to Rise-chan, her hand making slight contact with yours.

Rise: "Thanks a lot y/n-san! I hope we can get along!"

y/n: "S-Same here!"

This isn't real, is it? THE Risette is not only attending school in YOUR class, but also sits next to YOU and has even touched YOU. There's no way this is real. You decide to pinch your cheek really hard when nobody is looking. Then, you look in the direction of Rise, and sure enough, there she is, copying down your notes. She noticed you looking at her and raises her head from her notebook and gives you one of her trademark smiles.

Rise: "Don't worry! I'm almost done!"

You can feel your entire face becoming as red as a tomato. On second thought, you're pretty sure there are tomatoes that are less red than your face is right now.

y/n: "I-It's fine, take your time!"

After saying that, Rise giggles slightly and goes back to writing. God, she's just way too cute! You try to divert your focus back to the teacher, however, every few seconds, you briefly glance at Rise, hoping that she doesn't notice. After about 5 minutes of that pass, Rise hands you back your notebook quietly, giving you a smile. You smile back and open your notebook to begin taking the new notes. You try to focus on that as much as possible, trying to forget that Rise is even here, though that's hard to do since your heart is racing like crazy. Eventually though, you somehow survive through the entire class, as the lunch bell finally rings. Once it does though, a swarm of students race to Rise's desk, all wanting to talk to her. Rise has a very overwhelmed and confused expression on her face, and you can see her struggling to respond to much of what the people are saying. You want to help her, to say something, but you're a flustered mess you just stand there, trying your best to study, like you always do for the first half of the lunch break. After the first half is over, most of the people realize that so much time has passed, and leave to eat their lunch. Rise lets out a sigh of relief.

Rise: "Phew. That was overwhelming."

You begin to take out your lunch, it being just some instant noodles. That's all you can afford for now, so it'll have to do.

Rise: "I'm sorry y/n-san, you probably weren't able to eat due to all the people coming to talk to me."

y/n: "It's fine. I usually study for the first half of lunch break, and then eat for the other half, so this worked out nicely."

Rise: "If you say so... By the way, thank you again for your notes earlier. Without them, I would've been totally lost!"

y/n: "No problem. I'm glad that you're understanding the material better."

Rise: "There's still a lot I don't get though... I really need to catch up on my studies."

y/n: "Well, ummm, if you want... I could help you with some of that."

Rise: "Really? You must be really smart, y/n-kun!"

y/n: "I-I guess you could say so..."

You look down at the ground, blushing intensely at being complimented by Rise. This really feels like a dream. After a bit, you look back up and notice that Rise is just staring blankly around, not doing anything.

y/n: "Aren't you gonna eat, Kujikawa-san?"

Rise: Oh please, just call me Rise-chan. And I kinda forgot my lunch at home like a clutz haha..."

She faintly giggles.

y/n: "Well, if you want, I could share mine with you."

Rise: "Are you sure? Is it gonna be enough for you?"

y/n: "Yeah, don't worry about it. It always ends up being a little too much for me."

Rise: "Thanks a lot! You're a lifesaver."

As she said that, you begin eating, intending to eat only about half and giving the other half to her. You eat quickly, since you don't want to keep Rise waiting. Eventually though, with a little more than half of the cup left, you hand it over to Rise. She takes it with a smile, and slowly begins eating.

Rise: "Say... y/n-kun, are you free after school?"

This question catches you by surprise. Why would she want to hang out with someone like you after school?

y/n: "Y-Yeah, I'm free. Why do you ask?"

Rise: "Well, I was thinking you could show me around Inaba for a bit. I haven't been here in a very long time and I kinda forgot how this town looks."

y/n: "I can do that. I know a couple cool spots I can take you to."

Rise: "Yaaay! Thank you so much y/n-kun, you are so kind!"

y/n: "I-It's not a big deal at all..."

You said that in a barely audible voice. After that, you waited in silence for Rise to finish her noodles.

Rise: "That was really good! Thank you for the meal!"

y/n: "Always happy to help a fr- I mean student in need."

You wanted to say friend, but you knew that it was way too early to call Rise a friend of yours. You only met her not too long ago, after all. Slowly, the students return to the classroom, some of them stopping by to talk to Rise for a bit. It definitely wasn't as much people as before, and I could see that Rise is actually able to converse with everyone. Eventually, the teacher entered the room and began teaching class. You still haven't gotten used to Risette sitting right next to you, but it became a little easier to focus on what the teacher was saying. You also noticed that Rise was paying very close attention, and even answered correctly when the teacher called on her. After the class ends, a few more students come up to talk to Rise, but quickly go away.

Rise: "Alright, so, are you ready to go?"

y/n: "Sure."

You grab your things and exit the school with Rise.

Rise: "To tell you the truth, I'm also kinda afraid to be alone on my own around here."

y/n: "I'm not surprised. I can walk you home afterwards if you don't mind, just to make sure you're safe."

Rise: "I'd appreciate that a lot. Thank you!"

y/n: "No problem."

Rise: "Anyways, where are we going?"

y/n: "A hill near the Samegawa Flood Plain. It's a great way too see Inaba."

Rise: "That sounds fun. Let's hurry! I wouldn't wanna get home too late."

As she said that, Rise grabbed your hand and started walking at a much faster pace. Your heart is beating extremely fast now, it's a wonder you're not dead.

y/n: "You sure do have a lot of energy!"

Rise: "Of course! *giggle* It's necessary for a idol to have a bunch of energy!"

Eventually, you reached your destination. You can see the entire town from up here. Rise goes up closer and admires the view. A smile slowly forms on her face.

Rise: "So this is Inaba, huh... I feel so nostalgic."

y/n: "It's not as nice as the big cities, but it has it charms."

Rise: "I agree. I know that I'll take a liking to this town."

Rise: "Say ummm... I have a question for you..."

y/n: "Hmm? What is it?"

Rise: "Do I seem... different from my TV self?"

You wonder why she's asking that. But now that you think about it, she kinda does. She's definitely more quiet than you'd expect her to be.

y/n: "I guess. Not that it's a bad thing though."

Rise: "...W-What do you mean?"

y/n: "I might not know you for that long, but you're still Rise regardless if you're on TV or at school. Rise is Rise, and nobody can change that."

Rise: "Really?"

y/n: "Of course."

Rise: "I... haven't looked at it that way."

She seems to contemplate what you said for a bit. Is she... bothered by her real self?

Rise: "Thanks..."

As she says that, she walks up to you and gives you a hug. You feel Rise's warm body press against you. It feels so nice...

Rise: "Let's head back. It's getting a little late."

y/n: "Y-Yeah, let's go."

You feel as though you're gonna cherish this moment for the rest of your life. You're the most excited you've been in a very long while. The trip back to Rise's place has been largely uneventful. A couple people did walk up to her, but she quickly dismissed them and hurried back to her Grandma's tofu shop. Once you finally arrive, she turns around to look at you.

Rise: "I hope I didn't inconvenience you too much by having you walk me here."

y/n: "Not at all. I actually live pretty close to here. I hope that you had fun today."

Rise: "I sure did. It was a lot more fun that I thought it would be. I made my first friend at this school, and that friend has also made me feel better about myself. So, thank you again."

y/n: "You are thanking me too much. I'm just being honest with you."

Rise: "Yeah... I know. Well, I'll see you tomorrow at school. Take care!"

y/n: "You too, see ya!"

Rise quickly waves at you and walks into the tofu shop. She said she made a friend, but she only interacted with you today from what you've seen... Is she referring to you? Well, you'll find out with time. The thought still seems unreal to you, but after what happened today, it feels like a very strong possibility. You hurry back home to prepare for another day with Rise.

I hope you all enjoyed my little story! Part 2 will be coming soon. Please share your thoughts about the story in the comments and any critique that you may have, so my future works will be better.


	2. Chapter 2

Just a quick disclaimer before you start reading, you might notice that my writing style has changed quite a bit since the last part. That's because some people have pointed some flaws with my writing style to me, and I have tried fixing them. Please share your thoughts with me so that I can improve further and provide better stories for you all. Now enough of that, enjoy the story.

You finally arrive at your classroom door. You've been really excited for today, considering how great yesterday was. It was one hell of a day. Not only is the one and only Risette attending your class, but she also considers you her friend and has even hugged you! You try to calm your nerves a little, and you swing open the door.

"Heyyyy! You're here!" a very cute voice yells out, which could be none other than Rise. She gets up from her seat and runs up to you. "Hey Rise-chan. What's up?" you reply, slightly embarrassed at all the attention that you're receiving from her, not to mention that a lot of people are staring at you now. "Oh, nothing much. Also, I have a question for you." Rise says. "What is it?" you reply. You're very curious as to what her question might be. Either way, your heart is already pounding for pretty much no reason. "I was wondering, I know that we're in the same class, but... can I call you Senpai?" Rise asks, with a curious expression on her face, a little too loud for your liking. You can feel every student in the room giving you a death stare. "S-Senpai? Why would you want to call me that?" you ask her, confused by her reasoning. I mean, we are in the same class and I am only a month older than her, so it's definitely weird for her to call me that. "Awww... Do you not want me to call you that?" Rise says, a sad expression forming on her face. "No, no, no! You can call me whatever you want. I just wanna know the reasoning." You reply, trying your best to reassure Rise so that she can be happy again. When you said that, Rise suddenly got back to being her happy self. "Yaay! And it's just because... no reason!" Rise replies, laughing softly as she said that. God, she's just so cute!

After that was over, the teacher entered the room and we all rushed to our seats as he began the class. It was just review from the other day, so you had no problem with much of the assignments he gave us. Rise, however, seemed to be struggling a bit. You lean over to look at her paper and you quietly begin explaining one of the problems to her. You can see that she is listening very closely, nodding every so often. After that, you make her try the next problem on the paper, which she manages to solve, albeit it does take a little while. You decide to let her solve the rest of the paper on her own, and you go ahead and work on yours. The lunch bell rings and a lot of people leave the classroom. You get out your instant noodle cup, as per usual, and Rise gets out a little lunchbox. "I can see that you actually brought food today." You say to Rise. "That was a one time thing! It won't happen again!... probably." she says, a little embarrassed. "Senpai, how about you tell me some things about yourself now?" Rise says, as she unpacks her lunchbox, which seems to contain some tofu along with some other foods, likely made by her grandma. "Well, ummm... what do you wanna know about me?" You reply to her, not really sure what to tell her. "Well... do you have a girlfriend?" she asks. As she says that, you begin choking on the noodles that you just began eating. "S-Senpai? Are you okay?" Rise asks, very concerned at your sudden coughing. "Y-Yeah. I'm good." you reply after getting yourself back in order. "Geez, be more careful Senpai!" Rise says, as if she was a mother scolding her child. "Anyways, answer my question." she quickly says. "Ummm... I don't. Never had one either." you reply. "Why not? That's kinda surprising." she says, being slightly taken aback by your response. "Is it? I don't think it is." you reply to her, unsure why she thinks that. "I'm pretty average actually. I'm nothing special." you continue. "Oh, no need to be modest, Senpai! You're very smart and are also very kind and supporting to me!" Rise replies, giggling at the end. This sudden rapid fire wave of compliments takes you by surprise and you become extremely embarrassed, looking down at your noodle cup and increasing your eating pace. "Awww, you're like a little child, Senpai!" she says, laughing. "Anyways, do you have any friends you can introduce me to?" she asks, obviously very curious about me. "Well, not really." you reply, making eye contact with her again and slowing down your eating pace. "I used to have a friends, but some... stuff happened and now I have none pretty much." you continue, not really wanting to tell her the reason, since just thinking about it already makes you feel a little bit sad. "Awww, what happened?" she says, giving me a smile "If you don't mind telling me, that is." she continues, probably wanting to make sure that she doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. "I'll tell you another time." you reply, not really wanting to begin reciting your story, as it would take a while. "Oh alrighty then, no biggie!" Rise says, sensing that you don't want to talk about it and ending the conversation. After that, we just eat in silence.

School is finally over and you begin thinking about what to do today. Rise has to help her grandmother at the shop so she headed home as soon as the bell rang. You gather your things and you plan on going to your house so you can play some video games or something to relax. Upon exiting the classroom however, you meet a face you haven't seen in ages. "Hey, look who we have here..." the boy says, as he slowly approaches you. "Kure? W-What are you doing here?" you say, very terrified of him. He used to be in your class in middle school, but since high school began, you've only seen him around the hallway from time to time, and he never even looked at you. "Rise Kujikawa... that name familiar?" he says, in a slightly taunting voice. "I mean, yeah... She is one of the most popular idols in Japan after all." you reply, not sure what he could be getting at. "Yeah, good job smartypants. Say, she's in your class, right?" he says. "Yeah, what about it?" you reply, trying to sound normal, but deep inside you are really scared of him. After what he and his friends did to you in middle school, you have every right to be. "I heard you've been very buddy-buddy with her, huh?" he continues. You can kinda see what he's getting at. You have to try to avoid saying anything unnecessary at all costs. "She sits next to me, and she's new here, so of course I'm trying to help her out and stuff." you reply. On second thought, that might've not been a good idea. His expression becomes a very angry one as he shoves you into the nearby wall. "Look here. She is mine. I'm going to date her at all costs. So don't you dare get in my way, you goddamn nerd." he says, spitting on you and walking away. You wipe the spit away from your face and stand back up. You thought your bully forgot about you. Guess not. Either way, you just brush it off and walk to your house. You dealt with it in middle school for a while, so it's not gonna be any more different now.

The next day, after a pretty uneventful day, you get to your class and sit down, only to notice that Rise is holding a note, and looks very perplexed. You slightly tap her shoulder. "Hey Rise, what's wrong?" you ask her, a little concerned about why she looks like that. "Hey Senpai. I found this in my locker. I guess it's a love letter." she says, showing me the envelope the letter is in. Sure enough, it has a heart on it so it's pretty clear what it is. "Why don't you read it?" you ask her. You try to sound as normal as possible, but deep inside, you are very scared that she will end up going out with someone. Not that you have a chance with her, but you'd prefer her to be single at least. "I did. I'm not interested." she says, dismissing the letter like it was nothing. "I guess you're used to it, huh? You must've gotten thousands of those when you were working as an idol." you say, very relieved to see that she is completely uninterested. "Yeah. But back then I couldn't get a boyfriend because of work... now, nobody's stopping me." she says, lightly smiling. "Then, why don't you get one?" you ask, curious to see what her response will be. "Well, there IS someone I'm interested in... but I'm holding off for now." she says. This kinda makes your heart sink a little. "Who might that be? Mind telling me?" you ask, your curiosity now peaked. "It's... a secret." she says, with a slightly mischievous smile. "Oh... alright." you say, trying to smile back, however, you're sure your attempt at a smile must look absolutely horrendous. "I wonder who that letter was from, though..." she says. You have a slight idea of who it might be from, after what happened yesterday, but you decide to keep quiet. "Senpai... are you free after school today?" she asks. "Yeah, why do you ask?" you reply. Maybe she wants to go see some more of Inaba. There isn't much to show her though. I guess there's Junes. That's about it. "I kinda want you to tutor me today. I want to do better in school so I can make my grandma proud!" she says. This doesn't really take you by surprise, since you expected to tutor her at some point. She's not bad at the material, per se, but she just has a hard time grasping new concepts, and a couple older ones. "Sure, I can do that. Library should be fine, right?" you reply to her, already thinking about the best way to explain some concepts to her. "Well... how about we do it at my place instead?" she replies. This takes you completely by surprise, making you blush intensely. Rise must have noticed because she starts laughing a little bit. "Don't worry silly, we'll be sticking strictly to studying." she says, teasing me a little bit. "I-I know. It just kinda surprised me, that's all, haha.." you reply, laughing very nervously at the end. Now that you think about it, it might be for the best. You have no chance of encountering Kure if you're at her house. "We'll talk about it more after school, alright?" Rise says, giving me a quick smile before the teacher enters the room and begins the lesson.

"Here we are!" Rise exclaims, as we arrive at her grandmother's tofu shop, Marukyu. You have never been a big fan of tofu, but you might eat some today. Following Rise inside, you wait a little until she brings her grandma here. Eventually, you see Rise walking alongside a old lady, which you can only assume is her grandma. "Oh... Why hello there. You must be the 'Senpai' Rise talks so much about." the old lady says. "Yeah, I am. Nice to meet you." you say, giving a polite bow. "I must thank you for taking care of Rise at school and helping her with her studies. Since she's missed a lot of school due to her idol work, it's been hard for her to catch up." she says, herself bowing down a little. "Oh, it's no big deal. Rise's a great girl, and she's fun to hang around with and she keeps me company. It's the least I could do." you reply. You glance at Rise and you can kinda see her blushing a little bit, but she says nothing. "As a thank you, I can make you some tofu after you finish. It's the least I could do." she says, giving you a smile. "That's fine with me." you reply. "Alright, you two can go ahead and begin studying. Let me know when you're done." she says. "Alrighty then! Follow me Senpai." Rise says, and you follow her to the back of the store and up some stairs, until you arrive at a door that she swings open. Behind that door lies a rather plain and empty looking room, only featuring a bed in the back, a low table in the middle of the room, and a decent sized TV to the right. "You have a pretty nice room, Rise-chan." you say. And you're not just saying that to be nice. You genuinely like the room. Sure, it's plain, but that's it's charm. "I only moved in here a couple days ago, so I have yet to decorate it much." Rise replies. "Anyways, let's get studying!" she says excitingly, taking out her books. You take out yours and begin going over some of the material with her. It takes her a while to completely understand the concepts, but once she does, she does everything perfectly, with barely any mistakes. Needless to say, you're very impressed. You have a lot of fun teaching Rise things she didn't understand before, and she obviously does too, since she is always smiling when listening to you teach. Before you know it, it's almost time for you to go home. "Well, I guess that's it for today." you say, getting up and stretching a bit. "Oh, you're right. I guess it is quite late. Thank you so much for today Senpai!" Rise says, smiling at you. "No problem. I'm happy that you understood pretty much everything I taught you." you reply, also giving her a smile. "You'd make a really good teacher, you know? I'd be super happy to be in your class!" she says. "Yeah... I guess...". This brings back some bad memories, and it kinda makes you a little sad, but you quickly cheer back up, so Rise won't be worried. "How about that tofu? I'm excited to see how it tastes." you say to Rise. "Oh right. I'll go tell grandma to start preparing it. Be back in a bit!" she says, as she gives you a wink and walks out of the door.

Where is she? It's been about 15 minutes since she left. Maybe she's out helping her grandmother with making the tofu. Either way, you watched a couple of videos and read some stuff online until she finally came back. "Sorry for the wait!" Rise says, holding a plate of tofu in her hand. She sets it down on the table, and the tofu facing you has... a heart made from sauce on it? What? "This is mine, right?" you ask, pointing at the tofu in front of you. "Of course it's yours, silly!" Rise says, as she sits herself down across from you. "Thank you for the meal!" you say, as you begin eating the tofu. As you chew, Rise looks at you with a curious expression, as if waiting for you to say something. This is really good tofu though. You've only eaten it a couple of times, so it's not like you're a connoisseur or anything, but this is definitely the best tofu you've eaten. "This is really good! I might not be big on tofu, but this might change things." you say, as you continue eating the delicious meal. "Really? That's great to hear. I actually helped grandma prepare it, so it probably tastes this good because I've poured my love into it!" she says, also eating her own portion. Knowing Rise, the heart earlier and what she just said doesn't really mean anything. In no time at all, the meal is completely finished. You lean back and sigh. "Phew! That really hit the spot. I'll probably become a regular of this shop." you say. "Are you sure you're not doing that just to see me more often?" Rise asks, in a teasing tone, with a mischievous smile on her face. "Maybe I am." you decide to give her a taste of her own medicine, and also mischievously smile yourself. She slightly blushes, probably surprised because I don't usually do this. "A-Anyways, how about you give me your phone number so we can talk tomorrow? You know, since it's the weekend." Rise asks, taking out her phone. "You're right. Guess it's a good idea to do that." you take out your own phone, and quickly exchange numbers with her. It feels so surreal. You, of all people, have Rise Kujikawa's number. You can't help but be extremely excited. "I guess I should get going. It's pretty late. I want to be home by the time my parents arrive." You say, picking up your bag. "Awwww... Alright. See ya tomorrow!" Rise says, standing up and getting close to you, embracing you. You could get addicted to this. You feel so warm and fuzzy inside. "Here's a thank you from me for being so supportive." Rise says, as she steps back for a moment, but quickly gets close to your face and plants a little kiss on your right cheek. My eyes widen immensely, and my heart starts pounding like never before. Rise must notice how flustered I am, as she begins giggling. "Come on, don't you have to go home now?" she says, teasing you for just standing there. Who can blame you though? You've been kissed on the cheek by Rise, of all people. I'm sure everyone would react the same way. "R-Right. See ya tomorrow!" you say, waving to Rise as you exit the room. You head downstairs and thank her grandma for her hospitality and food, and head on towards your own home. You're not sure what that kiss meant, but it most definitely made you the happiest you've ever been.


	3. Chapter 3

June 1st. Normally, a uneventful day for you, filled with lazing around or studying. However, since Rise Kujikawa started attending your school, you've been thinking about this day a lot. Today is Rise's birthday, so you're thinking about doing something for her. Maybe you can take her out to dinner or something? That should suffice, considering you don't know her well enough to know what else she might enjoy. You did some work around your neighborhood in order to get enough money for this. It wasn't easy, considering you're not too good at physical work, nor do it very often, but it's worth it for her. Once school is over, Rise comes up to you, as you're thinking about how to go about today. "Hey Senpai. What do you wanna do today?" Rise asks, while putting away her books in her bag. "I was thinking... how about we go to Junes? We haven't been there yet. Maybe you could do some shopping or whatever." you say, hoping she would stay long enough so you could get her to have dinner there. "Shopping? Aren't you gonna get bored? Or... maybe you wanna see me in some sexy outfits?" Rise asks, giggling. You've gotten used to her teasing by now, so you decide to do a little bit of your own. "Who knows? Maybe I do." you reply. "You might even make me try some outfits for myself so you can get a good look." you continue, giving her a mischievous smile. You know she's most likely not interested in you, but even so, you do like giving her a taste of her own medicine from time to time. She slightly blushes. "Let's get going already!" she says, standing up, looking very excited.

After a while of walking in silence, you finally decide to say something. "Hey Rise... I've been wondering..." you begin, thinking about how to word the question. It might not be the best time to ask about this, but you've been curious about this for far too long. "Hmm? What is it Senpai?" Rise responds, looking at me in a confused matter. "I should've asked this earlier but... why did you take a break from showbiz?" you finally ask. A slightly sad expression appears on her face. "Well, it was rather stressful, so I thought a break would be nice... but now that I'm here, I don't really wanna go back." she replies. "Why? Do you not enjoy it anymore? Is someone treating you poorly?" you ask, concerned about what caused Rise to be like this. You can see that this is bothering her, so you feel really inclined to help her out. She helped you out a lot, although not directly, when you needed it the most, so it's time to return the favor. "No. It's none of that. I still enjoying being a idol, and everyone at my studio is treating me very nicely but... I get this feeling that everyone just likes the Rise on TV and not the real me." she says, her expression becoming even sadder. "I was bullied when I was little. Nobody liked me. I had no friends. I was always lonely and way too shy. Nobody had any expectations of me. I really was pathetic..." Rise continues. "Rise... I..." you reply, trying to say something, but barely any words escape your mouth due to how shocked you are. Rise? Bullied? There's no way. "Eventually though, a relative of mine submitted my application to a idol competition. I just did it as a joke. But I won. I was unsure of what to do. But then I realized that if I became a idol, I would finally be looked at in a positive light and make friends... so I accepted. Now though... I realized that the "me" everyone admires, isn't actually me. It's Risette. Nobody even cares about the old Rise Kujikawa, just the regular girl from Inaba..." Rise finishes, tears forming in her eyes. That's definitely not something you expected. But she's wrong. "H-Huh? Senpai?" Rise exclaims, as she is very surprised by your sudden embrace. "Rise. For me, it doesn't matter if you're the old Rise or Risette, you're still my friend no matter what. And I'm sure people would think the same if you just showed them your true self. Don't be scared to show who you truly are. People will definitely accept you." you say, trying your best to comfort Rise. You're not that good at stuff like this, considering you never had to do this, but you at least hope that she feels a little better now. "Senpai..." Rise weakly cries out, as she sobs in my clothes. "You're the only one... that truly likes me for who I am..." she says, her words hard to understand due to her sobbing. "It's okay." you say in a soft tone, holding her close to you and gently rubbing her head. Eventually, her crying stops you break the embrace. "Haha... I'm sorry that you had to see me like that." she says, obviously being pretty embarrassed. "Don't worry. You let it all out, right? I'm sure you feel better now. That's all that matters." you reply, giving her a genuine smile. You've definitely come a long way from the stuttering mess you were when she first arrived here. "Thank you Senpai... You help me out so much." she says, wiping her face with a tissue. "But enough of that sad stuff! Let's get going!" she continues, giving you a broad smile and walking ahead. It's impressive how quickly her mood changes from very sad to cherry and full of energy. She sure is impressive.

You finally arrive at Junes. This place really has everything. Food, clothes, electronics, tools and so much more. No wonder everyone from the shopping district hates this place. The manager's son attends your school, and you hear that he is pretty infamous around the shopping district. "Where do you wanna go now, Senpai?" Rise says, looking around. She doesn't seem too impressed with this place. Probably because she's definitely been in shops way bigger than this, which is really hard to imagine. "Wherever you want. I'm fine with anything." you reply. "Well then... to the clothing section!" she exclaims, as if she was a knight going off to battle, and takes off. You chuckle. She's adorable. Once you arrive there, you begin regretting this. You're with Rise, but even so, you're not really a big fan of shopping for clothing. Regardless, you must stay strong and endure in order to make her happy. "Ooh! This is cute. And so is this. And this." you repeatedly hear her say, as she takes a shirt or a skirt and looks at it, before putting it back. Eventually though, she finally finds something that she seems pretty happy about. It's... a swimsuit. "Ooh! I love this color! I just have to try this out! Come on, Senpai!" she says, as she rushes off to the nearest changing room. Your heart begins beating quickly. Sure, you've seen Rise in a swimsuit many times, but seeing her in real life is definitely gonna be something else! You can't help to be excited as you wait for her to exit. Eventually though, after a couple minutes of painful waiting, she finally emerges from the dressing room. She is wearing a orange-ish bikini. She does a little twirl. "Sooo? What do you think?" she asks, with a slightly mischievous tone, but quickly giggles after that. "I think it looks really great on you!" you say, obviously very happy to see her wearing that. She looks even better in real life than on TV, which is hard to imagine. "Are you tempted to look at a place other than my face?" Rise asks in a teasing tone, slightly puffing out her chest. You quickly glance at it, hoping you would not be noticed, but she probably did, seeing as she laughs. "Anyways, I think I'll get this. I'll go change back." she says, going back in the dressing room. While in there, you decide to go and check the price of it. About 3,500 yen. You can afford that. After Rise comes back out, you head to the register to pay. As Rise begins taking out some money, you tell her that you're gonna pay for it. "Really? You don't have to. I have more than enough money to do it." she says, trying to convince you to let her pay. "I insist. Just let me get you this." you reply, going up to the register and paying for the swimsuit. "Thank you so much! I appreciate it." Rise says, taking her bag with the swimsuit in it and smiling. "Oh, it's pretty late. We should go home." she says. You also look at the time. Perfect. It seems she stayed long enough to justify eating here. "Hey, how about we eat here? You must be getting tired of eating just tofu, right?" you ask her. "I mean I guess... Yeah, actually, that's a pretty good idea. I'm pretty hungry." Rise says, seeming a little embarrassed. "Alright then, let's get going to the food court." you say, guiding her there. Now, it's time for part two of your plan to be set in motion.

You get to the food court and ask Rise what she wants and tell her to go sit down. You order the food and decide to sneak out of the food court and go get her some flowers and a small cake with some candles while the food is being prepared. By the time you return, it seems the food is not done, which gives you time to give her everything. You go over to the table, and as she sees you, Rise's eyes widen. "Happy birthday! I hope this is enough." you set the cake on the table and hand her the flowers. Rise's face beams as she gets up and hugs me very tightly. She's stronger than she looks. "Thank you so much! Nobody's ever done this to me! I'm so happy! You're amazing Senpai!" she says, being very excited. "I mean sure, the people at my agency did something similar, but I'm sure it's because they had to, and not because they wanted to. You really are a true friend to me. Thank you!" she says, breaking the embrace, then sitting back down. "No problem. I'm glad you're happy. Oh. The food should be ready by now. Be right back." you say, rushing over to grab the food and bring it back to the table. You return with the food, and come back to see Rise sniffing the bouquet of flowers you gave her. You got her some orange roses, since you thought it would go well with the color of the swimsuit she got, and it seems you didn't make a bad choice. After we finish eating, we clean the table and you set the cake on the table, putting the candles in it and lighting them. You begin softly singing happy birthday to Rise. "Make a wish!" you say once you finish the song. Rise stays quiet for a moment or two, before blowing out the candles. "I really hope my wish comes true!" she says, looking at me and smiling. "Anyways, let's eat!" she continues, cutting a piece for me and a piece for herself. I got her a cake that seems to be made from pink buttercream, with 'Happy Birthday Rise' written on the top of it. "Wow! This is some really good cake. Thank you Senpai!" Rise says, as she slowly eats the cake, seeming to want to enjoy every bite. "I'm glad you enjoy it. I wasn't sure what type of cake to get you but I'm glad I made the right choice." you say, smiling. As you continue eating, you suddenly get a very good idea. "Hey Rise... now that you've had your birthday, how about you get a motorcycle license?" you ask her. This actually could be a great idea. You could go to Okina city, where there's a lot more things to do, and you can go to various other places now that summer vacation is not too far away. "Motorcycle license? I guess I could do that. Do you have yours Senpai?" she asks. "Yeah, I've had mine since early May." you say. Sure, you had your license and scooter, but haven't really been using it that much, only taking a ride occasionally just to relax. "Alright then. I'll try to get mine as soon as possible." Rise says, finishing her slice of cake. You finish yours as well, but Rise seems to stare at your face once you do. This makes you slightly embarrassed. "I-Is something wrong Rise?" you ask. "Oh, it's just that you have a little icing on the side of your mouth. Here, let me get it." she says, as she gets up and puts her fingers dangerously close to your lips, wiping off the icing from your face. She then proceeds to put her finger in her mouth and eat the icing. "Anyways, it's quite late. Let's get going home. Wouldn't want to worry my grandma." she says, throwing away our paper plates.

A couple days later, you're walking back to Rise's house after she took her exam. She passed it on the first try, which didn't surprise you at all, considering how hard she was studying. As we approach the shop, however, we notice that a figure is standing in front of it. "Hey... he seems suspicious." you say. "Do you know that person?" you ask Rise. "Hmmm..." she says, looking at the person carefully. "Oh! It's Inoue-san." she says. "Rise-chan! There you are!" the person says, and starts walking towards us. "I've been looking for you. Where were you?" he asks Rise. You don't feel as though you belong in the conversation so you kinda just step back and let her talk to him. "Oh, well, I just took my motorcycle license test. What brings you here?" she asks. "Oh, well, I'm here to ask when you're returning to Takura Productions." he says. "I already settled everything with the agency. Jeez, do they want me back that badly?" she says, seeming a little annoyed. "They didn't ask me to come here. I came here on my own accords. You know that movie you were supposed to appear in? People are still very excited for that. They would be so disappointed if you didn't make it." he says, seeming pretty sad. "Well... I-I already said that I won't do it! And that's the end of that! You have other idols at the agency that can fill in for me!" she says, almost yelling. She's pretty scary when she's mad. I definitely want to avoid that. "Well, Kanami-chan did actually get a offer... I suppose she'll have to do." he says, sighing. "I guess I should sign up to her manager. With the experience I have because I've worked with you, I can definitely make her the next big idol." he says. "It won't be easy though! She's a lot more... plain than you were so it'll take a lot of work to make her appeal to everyone. I'm sure that once we do, though, she'll sell incredibly well! Maybe even better than you!" he says, chuckling at the end. That was kind of... rude, in your opinion. You glance over at Rise, and you can see that she is both angry and sad. "Well, I suppose I'll be going. Goodbye, Rise-chan." he says, giving a small bow, and briefly smiling at me, before taking off. After that, you and her just sit there in silence. You await for Rise's reaction. Kanami, huh? You're pretty sure you heard that name somewhere. "I'm really glad I'm out of that showbiz world... all they care about is making me sell. They don't care about the real me..." she says, almost crying. "But, I'm happy that I met you, Senpai. You actually appreciate the real me, so, thank you." she says, rubbing her eyes and then smiling at you. "Of course I do, Rise. We're friends. Friends appreciate and care about each other." you reply, smiling back at her. Being a idol must be tough, huh? You never really think about it that way until you hear some stories of what some idols are going through. "Anyways, I have to help my grandma out. I'll see you later Senpai." she says, coming over and giving me a quick hug. She's being doing this every time you say your goodbyes lately. Still, it feels as nice as ever. "Take care Rise." you say, as she breaks the embrace and walks into the store. It's a good opportunity to catch up on your studies. You haven't really fallen that much behind, per se, but still better to be safe than sorry.

After you're just about to get to your house, you see a all too familiar face. It's Kure. He seems to be waiting for you. Crap... what to do... You suppose that you could go down a different route to your house and avoid him altogether. As you start walking though, he spots you, instantly running towards you. Past experiences taught you that it's best to not run if this happens. He'll definitely catch you, considering he's way more athletic than you are and it just angers him and makes him lash out at you more. "Well well, would look at that? Were you trying to run away?" he says, laughing. "It seems you haven't listened to my warning, have you? You still spend time with Rise and I even saw you with her at Junes the other day. It... angered me to no end." he says, clenching his fist. "She saw my love letter that I put in her locker some time ago, right?" he asks. "Y-Yeah. She did. She said she wasn't interested though. Said she already liked someone." you say. You can see that this angers him a lot, so you step back, intending to run away. You have no choice now. Either you stay here and take a beating or you run and have a chance to escape. Before you can do that though, he lands a good punch in on you. It knocks you to the ground. He's definitely gotten stronger since the last time he punched you. "This is your fault, you know? You probably told her all sorts of nasty things about me, didn't you?" he says, spitting on my shirt. "N-No. I actually didn't. I told you before, I never once hated y-" you try saying, but before you can finish your sentence, he kicks you. "Yeah, right! You always hated me ever since you started studying up like a good little boy. Don't give me that shit." he says, obviously very mad by what I said earlier. You really don't hate him, though. He thinks you do, but every time you try and explain that to him, he just gets mad and hits you. He sighs. "I guess I'll confess to her tomorrow in person. You better not get in my way, punk." he says, staring you dead in the eye before walking away. Hahaha... You hope Rise doesn't ever see you like this. Speaking of her, you'll probably have to tell her everything that happened now that Kure will confess to her. That's definitely not good. You're really scared that she'll look at you in a different way because of it. She'll probably see how weak and pathetic you really are. You get back up, and sigh. He really got you good this time, though. I guess there's not much you can do about it. You look at your phone and notice a text from Rise. "3". She does this from time to time, texting me a heart or something when she has a moment or two to spare. This puts a smile on your face, and you feel a lot better. Everything's gonna get a lot more complicated now.


	4. Chapter 4

The day you were so anxious about has finally arrived. Kure is gonna confess to Rise today, and as a result of that, you'll probably have to explain your past to her. Needless to say, you had a hard time sleeping last night, terrified that you might lose Rise, one of the best people you've ever met in your life. With a sigh, you swing open the classroom door and slowly walk over to your seat. Rise, as usual, is sitting at her desk, using her phone. "Hey Senpai!" she says, as you sit down in your seat. She looks at you, and almost immediately, she begins looking worried. "Senpai? Are you okay? You seem... tired." she asks. "I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep much last night." you say, as you take out your things for class. "Jeez! You need to take better care of yourself Senpai!" she says, scolding you. You're happy to see that Rise cares about you. "I will." you say, as you look back at her and force a smile. After that, nothing of note happened. Classes passed by extremely slow. Eventually though, the final bell rang and everyone was released from class. "Hey Senpai, are you willing to tutor me today?" Rise asks. You are tired, sure, but you really enjoy your time tutoring her, so you can't refuse that offer. "Sure. We have exams coming up, so it'll be good review for me too." you say. "Yaay! Let's go Senpai!" she says, being very excited. You hope that you won't run into Kure. You make it to the school gate without a problem, and just as you begin thinking that he won't show up, that's when you see him, walking up to you and Rise. "Hey... Rise?" he asks. You're very surprised at how shy he seems. Guess he has a heart after all. "That's me. What's up?" she asks, seeming a little annoyed. "Can you come with me for a bit? I want to tell you something." he asks. "It'll only take a little bit." he says, smiling. "S-Sure?" Rise says, a little reluctant, but goes ahead and follows him anyway. They don't go very far, so you are able to hear what they are talking about. "So, what did you wanna tell me?" she asks, seeming pretty impatient. "Well... I want you to be my girlfriend." he says. That's Kure alright. Straight to the point. "Huh? I-I don't even know you." she says. You can see that Kure is a little surprised at her response, probably expecting her to accept, no questions asked. "Well... I'm Kure Hirai. First year. I am part of the basketball club and I am one of the most popular people in this school." he says. "Well, obviously you're not popular enough because I haven't heard anything about you." she says. Suddenly, Rise becomes a lot more serious. "Be honest here. Why do you wanna go out with me?" she asks. You get a cold sweat. Is she thinking of accepting? No, that can't be it. She was pretty rude to him just a moment ago. "Well... You ARE Risette, one of the most popular idols in Japan. Who wouldn't want to go out with you?" he says. "What if I wasn't Risette. What if I was just a regular girl. Would you still want to go out with me?" she asks. You can kinda see where she's going with this. "I mean... I don't know." he answers, scratching the back of his head. As he says that, Rise turns away and starts walking towards me. "We're done here. Goodbye." she says. "W-Wait! He made you hate me, didn't he?" Kure says, pointing at you. Rise suddenly stops and turns around. "Him? He never even mentioned a word about you to me." she says, looking very confused. "I know it's not true! He hates me! Don't be afraid to tell me! He won't do anything to you!" he continues, sounding pretty desperate. Soon, a crowd begins to form. "Dude. You're delusional. He would never threaten me. Get out of my sight." Rise says, as she runs over to me, and holds my hand. "Come on, let's go Senpai." she says, smiling at me. You look back at Kure. He is giving you a death stare. This is not good at all. "We should get out of here quick." you say, the both of you increasing your pace.

You arrive at Rise's room with her. She hasn't said a word to you since that whole incident happened. Is she just gonna ignore what just happened? Probably not. That's not like her. She doesn't seem to be mad or sad or anything like that though. "Hey Senpai. Now that we're here, can you tell me some things about that guy earlier?" she asked. She sat down at her low table and invited you to sit across from her. "Well... he used to be a friend of mine, a long time ago." you say. "Really? He said you hated him though. Is that true?" she asks. "No. I genuinely don't. He just thinks I do because of what happened in the past." you say, sighing. "Mind telling me what happened?" she asks, smiling at me. "If you want to, of course." she continues. "I'll tell you everything. It's pretty pathetic, but hey, at least you'll know." you say, taking a deep breath and beginning to talk about your past. "I wasn't always smart like I am now. In fact, when I was a kid, I used to be a delinquent. I always used to cause trouble. I didn't care about my education. Kure was my best friend back then." you say, looking at Rise's face as you do, as if to analyze her reactions. She looks pretty shocked. "That's surprising. I never would've guessed you were that kind of person." she says. "Anyways, the teachers hated me. They would always hold parent teacher conferences and try to get me to change. One day, they invited me along and asked what I wanted to be. I just said I wasn't sure and that was the end of that. After some time though, I needed some money to buy something, so I decided to try and tutor a person that was antisocial into improving his speaking skills, seeing as that's the only thing I was good at back then." you say. The child was about to go to middle school and you were in your first year of middle school. His parents were pretty happy when they found out that you were around his age and were willing to tutor him. "That's when I found out that I had a passion for teaching. So the next time I went to one of those conferences, I told them that I was interested in teaching. Then they gave me a crash course on what you need to be a teacher and how important it is to have good grades. Then my parents hired some tutors for me and I actually began to like studying and learning new things. However, since I was spending much of my free time doing that, I didn't really hang out with my friends anymore, including Kure. Nobody else cared, but he took things personally. He thought I hated him for some reason. Since then, he began being very rude to me and bullying me." you say. "That's horrible! Did you try telling him that you don't actually hate him?" she asks. "Yeah. I did. I even tried getting other people to tell him that. He just wouldn't listen." you say, sighing. "Anyways, he always tried to get me in trouble, spread rumors about me, try to get people to hate me, and all around just bullied me relentlessly. Eventually though, once I got into Yasogami High, he got assigned to a different class and I've barely seen him since. Occasionally around the hallways, but he never did anything to me. Until recently..." you continue. "I-Is it because of me?" Rise asks, putting two and two together and probably realizing the reason why Kure suddenly became interested in me again. "No. It's not your fault Rise. He just came up to me one day and told me to stop hanging out with you. He was the one that put that love letter in your locker a couple weeks ago. Then, just yesterday, on my way home, he threatened me again and said he's gonna confess to you today... and here we are." you say. You can see Rise's expression. She is pretty angry. "The nerve of that guy! He's horrible!" Rise says, going over to you and hugging you. "Pretty pathetic huh?" you say, chuckling. "No it's not!" Rise says, breaking the hug and looking up at you. "I've been bullied. I know how it's like. It's not pathetic at all. I'm here for you." Rise says, smiling at me. "Thanks Rise." you say, smiling back at her. "Anything for you, Senpai!" she says, giving me another hug. "Anyways, we didn't come here to tell stories. Let's start the tutoring." you say. "Awww, I wanted to spend more time lazing around!" she says, suddenly putting her head on your lap. This girl is just so good at cheering you up that it's unreal. "Alright, alright. But just a little longer." you say, looking down at her. "You know Senpai... remember when I told you that there's someone I like?" she asks. "Yeah. I remember. Did something happen?" you reply. "Well, I was thinking about confessing to him soon. I think he likes me back." she says. This kind of worries you. You're sure that Rise won't stop hanging out with you, even if she did get a boyfriend, but it would still kind of hurt you. "Well, I hope that he does like you back." you say. You're still Rise's friend, so you need to support her as much as possible, regardless of what happens. Suddenly, she jumps back up, as if she just got a sudden burst of energy. "Alright then! Let's start studying!" she says, going over to her spot across from you and opening her books.

A couple weeks later, things are still mostly the same. Exams just ended and summer vacation is around the corner. You've been talking to Rise about going to the beach, and she seemed pretty ecstatic about it. You haven't seen Kure since that incident happened so you're kinda worried about what he might be planning. You shouldn't be worrying about that right now though, seeing as you're in Okina City with Rise. You came here by scooter, and you were pretty impressed by how gracefully Rise handled her scooter. You'll be going to see a movie later, but for now, you're just looking for some swimming trunks to use at the beach. Speaking of the movies, you wonder how she'll react to what we're watching. The featured movie this month was a horror one, and at first, Rise seemed to not want to go, but suddenly, she just got a mischievous smile and agreed to go. Maybe she wants to try out new genres of movies? Well, it doesn't matter. In the end, you end up buying a pair of black swimming trunks and return to Rise. "Ready to go to the movies?" you say. "You're done already? Wow, that was quick Senpai!" she says, looking pretty surprised. "Well yeah. It doesn't take long for me to pick out some clothes." you reply. "Well, alright. Let's go then!" she says, as we exit the store and head towards the 30 Frame Movie Theater. We arrive, getting our tickets along with some popcorn and soda, sitting down at our assigned seats, waiting for the movie to start. "Do you like scary movies Senpai? she asks. "Well, I wouldn't say I like them, but I can handle them. Some of them are pretty enjoyable. What about you?" you ask. "Well... To be honest, they're not really my thing, but since you're here, I think I'll be fine." she says, smiling at me. After a couple minutes of silence, the movie starts. It has your typical horror plot. A group of teens go on a road-trip and they run out of gas in the middle of a forest. They go look for help, but they find out that a serial killer is after them. At every jumpscare or loud sound, you can feel Rise holding your arm tightly. You look at her and smile, which seems to calm her down a little bit. You have to give her credit, she must be really brave to do something like this. Eventually, the movie ends with the teens getting the killer arrested after he killed a couple of their friends. It was nothing too special, but a decent movie nonetheless. "So, how was it Rise?" you ask. "I-It was good. I'm glad you were here though, I couldn't have watched the entire thing if you weren't here Senpai." she says. After that, you returned home. You're both going to bed early today since tomorrow is the day you'll be going to the beach. You can barely contain your excitement.

Shichiri Beach. It took you quite a while to get here. At first, you weren't really sure if this was the right way, almost getting lost at a couple of times, but once you arrived, both you and Rise give a sigh of relief. You park your scooters and go over to get changed. It only takes you a minute or two, so you're at the beach way before Rise. And so, you keep waiting, your heart pounding like crazy. You start imagining all sorts of crazy scenarios, but once realizing what you're doing, you quickly discard them. "Yeah, like any of that will ever happen." you tell yourself. You get bored, so you decide to try making a sand castle. It's your first time coming here in years, so you're not very good at it. Eventually, in the distance, you can see Rise coming over, wearing her orange swimsuit that you bought for her birthday and carrying a bag, probably with sunscreen and other things. You can't stop looking at her. She's stunning. You suddenly feel like the luckiest guy in the world. You're sure that thousands of guys would kill to be in your position. Rise giggles as she finally reaches me, probably realizing that I've been staring at her for the longest time. You finally tear your eyes away, looking at the ground and blushing. "This feels so nice! What a perfect day to be on the beach!" Rise says, stretching a little bit and setting down some towels. "Senpai, would you mind putting some sunscreen on my back?" Rise says. This, of course, makes you pretty flustered, but there's no way you can say no to that. "Y-Yeah." you say, in a quiet voice, as you take the sunscreen from her and she turns around. You put some on your hand, and then gently apply it to Rise's back. Her skin is really smooth. You can't even believe that you're doing this. You start with her shoulders, and slowly go down, stopping a couple inches from her butt, not wanting to risk touching it. She seems to have noticed your hesitation. "Come on Senpai, go lower a little. I don't wanna get sunburned." she says, looking back at you and smiling mischievously. "A-Alright." you say. You're sweating. You take a deep breath, and start going lower. You apply it very carefully, eventually finishing. "Now it's my turn!" she says, grabbing the sunscreen from my hand and going behind me. Unlike me, she doesn't seem to care what she touches and applies it pretty quickly. She must've done this countless times, as opposed to you. In no time at all, she is finished. "Alright, time to go into the ocean!" she says, quickly running towards to ocean. You follow her and start playing with her. You splash each other with water, swim around peacefully, and overall just have a really good time. You eventually get out of the water and go over to have some lunch with Rise. You brought over some sandwiches and Rise's grandma gave us some tofu. "I never imagined this would be so fun! Thank you Senpai!" Rise says, as she prepares our lunch. "No problem. Glad you're enjoying this little trip." you tell her, smiling as you do so. "I have something pretty important to tell you later today. Would you mind hearing me out?" she asks. "Sure. You could just tell me now though." you say. You're pretty curious as to what she has to say. "N-No. I can't do that right now. I need a little time." she replies. What does she need time for? Is there something personal she hasn't told you? Well, it doesn't matter, you'll find out soon enough. You quickly eat your lunch and relax for a little bit, before heading back into the ocean. While in the water, you hear a scream. You look back at Rise. "Is everything okay? What happened?" you ask, very concerned. There's no one but you here, so is there something in the water maybe? "I-I..." you notice that Rise has a hard time speaking, and she's holding her hands to her chest. "M-My... bra!" she says, pointing over in the distance, and sure enough, there it is, floating casually. You quickly go over and grab it, taking it back to Rise. As you extend your arm out to hand it to her, she quickly turns you around and hides behind you, pressing her entire body against you. "W-W-What is it Rise?" you ask, not really sure how to react to what's happening. All sorts of thoughts pass through your mind as you wait for Rise to answer. "A cyclist was passing by. I-I didn't want them to see me like this. Thank you Senpai." she says, letting go of you, as the water quickly cools your back, it having been warmed up by Rise's chest. You extend your arm backwards and hand her the bra. "Phew. That was the first wardrode malfunction I ever had." Rise says, giggling.

Eventually, we finally start packing up after a very fun day. We look out over the ocean as the night slowly approaches. "Hey... Senpai?" Rise says, looking at me. "What is it?" you ask. "Remember how I said I have to tell you something?" she says. You can feel your heart beating a little faster for some reason. "Well... ummm... First of all, I would like to thank you for supporting me and being so kind to me ever since I got here in Inaba. You've been amazing and I've made countless unforgettable memories with you." she says. "And... You helped me realize who I truly am. I'm not just Risette and not just the girl from Inaba. Both of those are still me. Without you, this issue would've bugged me forever. Well, you know, since then, I kinda realized that... I've fallen in love with you." she continues. As you hear her last sentence, your heart skips a beat. "So... would you be my boyfriend?" she asks. This is unreal. You can see how embarrassed Rise is, it must've taken her days to prepare for this moment. And you know what you have to do. You get closer to her, and give her a really tight hug. "Of course I will Rise. You don't know how happy I am right now." you say. You break the embrace and get close to her face, looking right in her eyes. The atmosphere is perfect. She slowly leans in closer, eventually her soft lips meeting yours. You feel as though this moment last hours, even though in reality, it only lasts a couple seconds. You slowly step back, breaking the kiss. "Senpai... I love you." she says, looking at you. She has the most genuine and most beautiful smile you have ever seen. "I love you too Rise." you say, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Let's get back now. We wouldn't want to worry our parents." You say, and Rise responds with a nod.


	5. Chapter 5

The first day of school after summer vacation is here. You've been in a relationship with Rise for about a month and a half now. Things have been going great, but at a pretty slow pace. You decided to keep your relationship with Rise private for now, since rumors spread fast at school, and you wouldn't want to complicate things further with Kure. You haven't seen him at all since the day he confessed to Rise and you're not sure whether it's a good or bad thing. Either way, you're excited to see Rise today, since you didn't see her yesterday due to her having to help at her grandmother's shop. You open the door and notice Rise at her desk, on her phone as usual. When she hears the door open, she looks back, and as she sees you, her eyes suddenly light up. She always does this when you see her for the first time on any day, but she always manages to look just as cute as the first time. "Seeeenpai!" she exclaims as she gets up from her seat and runs over to me and gives me a hug. By now, nobody really pays us any mind, since she's done this even before we were dating. "Did ya miss me Senpai?" she asks, giggling and smiling. "Of course I did. I'm really happy to see you." you say, making sure nobody is looking and giving her a light kiss on the cheek. You can see Rise visibly blush as you do so. "Jeez, no matter how many times you do this, it always feels as great as that first time at the beach!" she says, laughing softly. You and Rise go ahead and sit down, taking out your books. "Senpai? I have a question for youuu!" she says. "What is it Rise?" you reply. "I've been wondering... how did you start watching me when I was an idol? You don't seem like the type of guy that would be into that sort of stuff." she asks. This actually makes you think a little bit before answering. "Well, since I was bullied before, I would always go home after school was over and watch TV or study. I was flipping through channels one day and heard you singing. It was a really catchy and cheery song, so it really cheered me up after a terrible day. Ever since then, when I would feel sad I would always listen to some of your music, and I soon was an avid fan of yours." you tell her. It was pretty a pretty boring backstory, but she really did help you out a lot. "That day was the first day I tried fighting back against Kure. I remember I was walking down the hallway to go out of school and he pushed me down the stairs. Luckily I fell and slid down my butt, and I didn't hit my head or anything. I got so mad that day, that I actually pushed him to the ground and tried fighting him, but that only lasted a little bit, seeing as his friends defended him and he was way stronger than me. He proceeded to then hit me a lot more than usual. But when I got home and listened to you, all my pain and sadness melted away. So, thank you." you say. "Awwww, that's so sweet Senpai!" she says, getting close to you and hugging you, which takes you by surprises and makes you blush intensely. Soon after that, the teacher entered the room and class began.

After class was over, you and Rise decide to relax by the Samegawa Riverbank and have a little picnic. You are almost at the school gate, and are walking together while holding hands. This gets some people staring at you, but you don't really mind. However, one of those students that were staring at us, just happened to be Kure. As you saw him, you began hurrying your pace, not wanting to deal with him anymore. "We should do something about him." Rise says, as we are walking. "I guess, but there's not much we can do." you reply. You did everything you could back then, and you doubt things will be different now, in fact, it might be even worse. "Well, how about I come with you one day and talk to him? Maybe he'll listen if I'm there." she says. That might work. Kure probably wants to be seen in a good light by Rise, so you doubt he'll hit you or do anything bad. That might be your chance to finally get him to listen. "We'll do that another time, for now, let's get started on our picnic." you say, not wanting to do anything to ruin today. You stopped by Rise's house to pick up some food made by Rise's grandma. It has some sandwiches, tofu, and a bunch of other good stuff. Once you arrive, you lay down a typical picnic towel and take out the food. You both begin eating, while talking about some random stuff. "Hey Senpai..." she says. "Hmm? What's up?" you say, smiling at her. "Well, I've been thinking... maybe I should get back into showbiz." she says, very casually. This takes you by surprise. "Didn't you say that you quit though?" you ask her. "Yeah. But now that I realized that even Risette is still me, I thought maybe I should go back. I enjoyed it a lot, so I was kinda sad that I quit." she says. "Well, if that's what you want, I'll support you all the way through." you say. You're happy for her. She definitely is a lot more cheerful than she was when you first met her. "Of course, that means you'll make a couple appearances on TV too, seeing as you're my boyfriend now." she says, giggling. "Y-Yeah... That will be one hell of a experience." you say. You don't even want to think about that impending disaster at the moment. Suddenly, she scoots closer to you, laying her head on your lap. She looks up at you and smiles. "I love you Senpai!" she says, hugging you. "I love you too." you say in a soft tone, while playing with her hair. "Hey! I have an idea. How about you take me to your house now? You've been at my house a lot of times, but I've never been at your house, so you have to make it fair!" she says. You could do that. Your parents aren't home and won't be home for quite a long time. "I-I guess we could do that." you say, kinda embarrassed. When you're at her house, her grandma's always there but this time, you'll be all alone with her. You start thinking all sorts of impure thoughts as you blush slightly. Rise suddenly giggles. "Silly! What are you thinking about?" she says. This snaps you back to reality, quickly discarding those thoughts. "N-Nothing. Let's get going." you say, cleaning up and slowly make your way towards your house.

You finally arrive at the door of your room. It feels like it's taken a lot longer than usual to get here, even though you took the same path as you always do and you were walking at your usual pace. I guess it had to do with the fact that you've been thinking all sorts of impure thoughts ever since Rise had the idea of coming here. It was quite the challenge to focus on your conversation with her earlier, since you would always get distracted. "Here we are." you say, a little embarrassed as you swing open the door to your room. It wasn't that special of a room, but you were still pretty proud of it. You have a small bed in the back of the room, a TV along with a game console, a sofa, study desk, low table and a closet. You also keep it pretty clean, especially since you've began your relationship with Rise, unsure of when she would want to come here, which seemed to work in your favor. Rise slowly enters the room and looks around, as if taking mental pictures of the room. "Wow. It's a lot cleaner than I expected." she says. "What's that supposed to mean?!" you say. "Oh, nothing." she says, in a dismissive tone. "Still... I can't believe that I'm finally in Senpai's room... It's so cool!" she says. Soon after that, she rushes over to my bed and starts checking it all over. "What are you doing?" you ask, very confused as to why she's dong this. "Oh, well, I'm looking for your hidden stash, you know. I wanna know what type of stuff you're into." she says, as if it was something completely normal. "Stash? I don't really get what you mean..." you say. "Oh, come on, I know you have some. All the boys do, don't they? You must keep it pretty well hidden from your parents, huh?" she says, as she keeps looking. After a while of thinking, you finally realize what she means. "Oh! You mean that stuff. I don't have any. Whenever I have to do that stuff, I just use my phone." you say, a little embarrassed. "Awww... that's no fun! I'll try to bring you a album with some pictures of me soon so you can start your collection." she says, smiling mischievously. "Anyways... what should we do now?" you ask her. It was her idea to come here, after all, so there must be something she wants to do. "Oh, well, I guess we could watch TV or something. I only wanted to come here so we could be alone and not have to hold back." she says, sitting down on my sofa, motioning for you to sit down next to her. "Well, I guess that makes sense. It would be bad if Kure saw us or something. Or anyone else really. Rumors spread fast around here." you say, sitting down next to her and flipping through channels, trying to find something interesting to watch with her. After a while of searching, nothing interesting catches your eye so you give up. She then looks at your game console. "How about we play that Senpai?" she asks. "Oh, sure, we could do that. I have a extra controller you can use." you say, setting it up and proceeding to play a fighting game with her. Surprisingly, she is really good at the game. "I always used to play this game whenever I have some free time, so don't underestimate me!" she says. Eventually, after a couple of hours of playing that game and spending time with Rise, she glances at the time. "Oh, I should get going. I told Grandma that I was gonna help her with some stuff when I got home." she says. "Alright then. It was fun hanging out with you today." you tell her, giving her a smile. "Yeah! We should totally do this again soon! Maybe even have a sleepover!" she says, sounding pretty excited. "I-I'll see if I can arrange that." you say, blushing a little at the thought of sleeping with her. "Well, see you tomorrow my lovely Senpai!" she says, giving you a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. You decide to walk with her about halfway to her house, and then you return to your own.

Today, Rise wants to go to Okina City again, in order to look for some autumn clothes. You don't really get girls and their clothes. Things are going well, and you're having fun with her, when you see Kure. Rise also seems to have noticed, and glances at me. "What should we do?" she asks. You really weren't expecting to run into him today. "Should we go talk to him?" she says. "I mean, regardless of whether we do it today or some other time, we're still gonna have to do it, so might as well do it today." you tell Rise. You take a deep breath and begin walking towards him together with Rise. "Hey Kure." you say, approaching him. He looks extremely surprised to see you. "You? What are you doing here?" he says, in a hostile tone, but, as soon as he notices Rise, you can see him straighten up a little. "Rise-chan too? Are you two here on a date?" he asks, trying to sound as normal as possible. "Well, I just had him accompany me. I don't feel safe going around on my own yet." she says. "Anyways, we came to talk to you about something." she continues. "What could that be?" he asks, seeming a little surprised. "Well, Kure, I just wanna talk to you again about what happened in the past and why I don't hate you." you say, smiling at him. "Oh, come on! I already told you before that I don't believe you!" he says, this time letting his anger escape him a little. "But he really is serious! If he truly hated you, he would try to get you in trouble and get people to hate you, like you were doing to him." she says. "You told her everything that happened?" he asks you. "She told me about herself, so I only thought it would be fair to tell her about my past. Anyways, I'm sorry about what happened in the past. I really want us to be friends again." you say, extending your hand out to him. Your plan seems to be working. He doesn't even try to get in your face, like he would've if you were here alone. "I-I don't know man. You must've hated me before though, right? That's why you didn't hang out with me anymore suddenly." he says. "Well, like I told you before, I apologize about that. I was being way too serious about my studies, since I had a lot of motivation to become a teacher." you say. "He really has a talent for it! With his tutoring, I was able to go from not really knowing what I am doing to being in the top 10 this exam!" she says. "You can't blame him for pursuing a career that he loves." she continues. We seem to have gotten through to him, seeing as he is not saying anything and he seems to be deep in thought. "I'll think about it. I have to go now, so I'll come talk to you when I have my response ready." he says, walking away. When he is out of sight, you instantly give Rise a huge hug. "Thank you so much! Without you, I probably would've never managed to get him to this state!" you say, barely being able to contain your excitement. "Anything for my wonderful Senpai!" she says, and you soon let go of her. "Anyways, we still have to do shopping! Let's go!" she says, running over to the women's section again. "I really am blessed to have her as my girlfriend." you say to yourself, following her slowly.

Today is the day that you'll have a sleepover with Rise. Your parents aren't gonna be home today due to them visiting your brother, and once you told Rise, she insisted to have a sleepover. You've been cleaning your room since you woke up, you took a shower and you're ready for her to be here. Her grandma seemed to be okay with it, which isn't surprising seeing as her grandma is a very great and understanding person. Suddenly, you hear some knocking at the door. It must be Rise. You go ahead and open it, and sure enough, there she is, looking as cute as usual and carrying a little bag with her. "Hey Senpai! I'm so excited for today! I brought some pajamas." she says. "I'm glad that we can do this. I wish I could've prepared for it more though. It was pretty sudden." you say, inviting her in. "Prepare? What is that supposed to mean?" she says, laughing softly. "Oh, well, it doesn't matter." you say, trying to dodge the question. "Senpai, would you like me to cook dinner for you today?" she asks. Cooking huh? She must be pretty good at it, because she helps her grandma out at the tofu shop so much. You can't refuse to eat a home cooked meal from Rise. "Yeah, that's fine with me. I have some stuff in the fridge. You can make whatever you like." you say, smiling at her. You can barely wait for tonight. "I'll make sure you enjoy every last bite Senpai!" she says. You go up to your room with Rise and decide to relax until it's time for dinner. You flip through the channels, trying to find something interesting. As you're doing that, Rise suddenly stops you. "Wait just a second! Go back for a minute." she says, in a surprised tone. You do as she says, and it seems to be some girl singing. After watching it for a bit longer, you realize that this is a idol. "Who is that? Do you know her Rise?" you ask her. That voice sounds familiar though. You feel as though you heard it on TV before. "Yeah. She works at the same agency as me. You probably know her. She's Kanamin." she says. Oh right. Rise's manager mentioned her earlier. "She really has improved since I left. I expected as such, seeing as she's the agency's new poster girl." she says, sighing. "Oh well, you can go back to searching now." she says, getting closer to you. You put your thoughts aside and watch a romantic movie with her. While the movie itself is boring to you, Rise seems to be enjoying every second of it, which makes it all very worth it. Once it's over, she huddles close to me. "This is great Senpai! I could never ask for anything more!" she says. "Yeah, it really is. I love you, Rise." you say, kissing her lips. "Awwww! You're making my heart melt Senpai!" she says, cuddling you. You spend some time with Rise, talking about random things or funny past experiences. "Say, what do you wanna do in the future Senpai?" she asks. She raises a good point. I just got into high school, but I guess my school life is nearing its end. "I'll probably try and go to college and become a teacher. What about you?" you say. "I'm gonna go back to being a idol in the spring. You might have to make a couple guest appearances here and there." she says. "Well, that's fine by me. I'm happy you finally made up your mind about this." you tell her. "It wasn't easy, but I was able to do it thanks to you!" she says, kissing me on the cheek. "I really want to try doing a show with Kanamin aswell to bring our fanbases closer together." she says. "Are they not getting along too well?" you ask her. You'd think they would, considering they're both idols and they both work at the same agency. "No. Not at all. My fans hate Kanamin and her fans hate me. A forum that was made for me early in my career has lately been raided by Kanamin fans, and my fans have done the same to her forum." she says, looking a little sad. "I feel as though I would complicate things further if I said something, so I'm just going to wait until I make my debut." she says.

After some time, Rise decides to start cooking for you. "You can make anything you want." you tell her. You're not a picky eater, plus, you're sure that you'll enjoy whatever food Rise decides to make. "Alright then. I'm going to make you some ramen!" she says, heading towards your kitchen. You can barely contain your excitement, so you decide to take a nap until Rise finishes. You aren't successful with that, however, eventually deciding to watch some videos online until she comes back. After a longer time than you were expecting, she brings over two plates of ramen. She places your plate in front of you and sits down across from you. "Thank you for the food!" you tell Rise, as you excitingly begin eating. Upon placing the food in your mouth though, you feel a intense burning sensation, forcing you to run over to the kitchen and drink something to calm it. "S-Senpai! Are you okay?" she asks, looking pretty concerned. That stuff's way too spicy! It's barely edible! But there's nothing you can do. You can't just tell her that it's not good, and you're hungry as hell, so you decide to go back and continue eating, despite having to drink several glasses of milk along with it. You can see Rise struggling to eat her own food as well, which you find pretty funny, but you decide to keep quiet. "S-So... how was it Senpai?" she asks, looking a little sad. "I-It was good. A little spicy, but I enjoyed it." you say, smiling at her. There's no way that was a enjoyable meal, but you at least appreciate the effort she put into it, which makes you happy. "Really? Wow, I'm surprised. My food can only be enjoyed by the most mature people, so it seems you are quite mature." she says, smiling at you. What does maturity even have to do with this?! "Anyways, making that really wore me out. I'm tired." she says. "Well then, you can go use my bed. I'll just use the sofa here in the living room." you tell her. "Awww... I want you to sleep in the same room as me though!" she says, pouting. She never told you any of this, so it takes you by surprise and makes you flustered. "W-Well... if you really want to do that, I guess I can pull out a futon and I'll sleep on it." you say, in a quiet voice. "Yaay! Thanks Senpai!" she says, in a very happy and excited tone, and then hugs you. "I'll be upstairs changing. Don't you dare peep!" she says, smiling at me mischievously. While you are tempted to peep, you aren't prepared for Rise's wrath, so you go ahead and take out the futon and get some other things. "Alright Senpai, you can come up now! I'll be in the bathroom." she says. You bring the futon upstairs and arrange it. As you're finishing up, Rise comes through the door, in her simple pink pajamas. "Oooh! That is a pretty big futon! The both of us can probably fit on there!" she says, laughing softly. "W-Well... you're a guest and all, so I can't have you sleeping on the floor. Be a good girl and sleep on my bed." you tell her. To be honest, it's not so much that you don't want her to sleep on the floor, rather, it's for your own good. You definitely won't be able to sleep if Rise is right next to you. "Aww! You're no fun!" she says, puffing her cheeks out and pouting. "Well, time for me to go to the bathroom. I'll be back." you say, getting your pajamas and heading to the bathroom to change and prepare for bed. Once back, Rise is on the bed, looking at her phone. "Well, are you ready for bed Rise?" you ask her. "Of course!" she says. With her approval, you turn off the light and go to your futon. "Goodnight Rise. Sleep well." you tell her. "Goodnight Senpai! Sleep tight and be careful to not wake up with a mess in your pants!" she says, laughing. "What is that supposed to mean?" you ask her. "You're not gonna make me say it!" she says. You ignore her little remark and try to sleep. After what feels like quite a long time, you still can't fall asleep, not that you're surprised. You keep trying, but eventually you hear some rustling coming from Rise's direction. "Senpai, are you awake?" she asks quietly. "Yeah, what's up Rise?" you respond. You look over in her direction but you can't see much of anything. You hear no response, so you sit up, squinting in her direction, only to suddenly have a figure push you back down on your futon, and it presses its entire body on you. "R-R-Rise?" you say, not only being scared to death, but also extremely embarrassed. "Awww! Did I scare you, my cute Senpai?" she says, giggling. After she says that, she rolls off of you. "I feel so calm sitting here next to you. I wish time would stop and make this moment last forever." she says. Even though your heart is pounding like crazy, you still find this a little calming. "Yeah, I know what you mean." you say. "Maybe a goodnight kiss will help the both of us fall asleep." she says, soon getting close to your face and kissing you on the lips. This does a wonderful job at calming you down. After she pulls away, you and Rise stare at each other, even though you can barely see anything. "Senpai... I'm so glad I met you..." she says drowsily. A little after that, you hear her soft breathing, indicating that she has fallen asleep. The sound of her breathing is like a calming melody to you, which causes you to smile and slowly close your eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

You're walking with Rise to Junes today. She wanted to get a new TV, since apparently she has some money left over from when she was an idol. "You must have a lot money huh?" you say to her. Although it's expected since it is really hard work. "I guess you could say so. Saving most of it though." she says. "What for?" you ask her, curiosity getting the better of you. "Well, in the future, I would love for us to get married and have a really nice house, so I'm working towards that." she says, looking at you and smiling. "That sounds like a wonderful thing to work for." you tell her, smiling back at her. As you continue walking towards Junes, you suddenly start hearing someone running behind you. You look behind you and notice that Kure is running towards you two. "Heeey! Wait up!" he says, slowing his pace down slightly when he sees you and Rise stop. "Kure? What are you doing here?" you ask him. "Well, remember when we met in Okina City earlier? I thought I should hang out with you two." he says, trying his best to catch his breath. "So does that mean you want to be friends with Senpai again?" Rise asks, looking pretty happy. "Well, not yet. But I'll give him a chance and decide later." he says. "That's fine by me. Well, since you're here, help us with something." you say, explaining the TV situation to him. He agrees to help you out, and you go ahead and help Rise look for a TV. She ended up getting a pretty good deal on a TV she was really happy with, and you and Kure helped carry the TV back to Rise's room. This was the first time that Kure entered Rise's room, so he sat around a lot, looking around the room, instead of helping you and Rise unbox the TV. "Well, that should be enough. I can set it up from here. After this, I'll go help grandma out, so you guys can go ahead and hang out." she says, smiling at me. "Oh, alright. See you later then, Rise!" you say, smiling back at her. You are sadly unable to give her your usual goodbye kiss due to Kure being here. You head downstairs with him and he suddenly stops you. "How about we grab something to eat here while we talk about some things?" he says. "That's a good idea actually." you say, going ahead and ordering some tofu from Rise's grandma and taking a seat along with Kure. "Well, what did you want to talk about?" you ask him. You're surprised at how calm he seems. "Well, I just wanna apologize first of all. I guess I had blind hatred for you since middle school, and I haven't realized it until recently." he says. "It's fine. All is forgiven. What made you change your mind though?" you ask him, curious about his reasons and his sudden change in personality. "Well, a lot of stuff actually. First of all, since Rise rejected me, I found a girl I like and I think I can actually get together with her. I don't know what I was thinking with Rise. She's way out of my league." he says. "I guess I was way too self-centered. It first hit me when Rise said she never heard about me, even though she went to the school for months. This was a huge reality check for me." he continues. "Then, because of what happened at Okina City, I actually started talking with my parents and I let them give me advice about what to do. I have never done that, so it surprised them, but their advice helped me fix a lot of my arrogance and made me realize a lot of things. Like how you don't hate me. They made me realize how great of a friend you really were back in the day and they convinced me to give you another chance." he finishes. That is quite unexpected. He really matured a lot ever since you had a proper chat with him. "Well, I'm glad we can put that behind us now." you say, extending your hand out to him, exchanging a handshake. After that, we continue eating in silence. "Huh? What are you guys doing here?" you suddenly hear Rise exclaim from behind you. "Oh, we were just having a chat." you say, smiling at her.

Couple months later, you are at the entrance of the shrine waiting for Rise. Since then, you and Kure have properly become friends again, and you've enjoyed spending time with him and Rise. But tonight, you're alone with Rise on New Year's eve and waiting for her to arrive in a kimono. You haven't really seen her in a kimono yet. There was that one show she did in which she was wearing one, but you weren't able to watch it. After a while of waiting, way longer than you thought it would take, you can see Rise slowly approaching you in the distance, wearing a violet kimono, with her hair in a ponytail. She looks absolutely stunning, which makes the wait more than worth it. "How do I look Senpai?" she asks, doing a little twirl. It takes you a little while to actually say something, due to being entranced by her. "It looks absolutely wonderful Rise." you tell her, blushing a little bit while smiling. "Well, this is one of a girl's best outfits you know, I wouldn't have accepted anything less than that." she says, giving me a smile. "It's the first time I'm going to be spending New Year's with someone! I can't wait!" she says, looking like she can't stop smiling. "Well, let's go. It should be time soon." you tell her, holding her hand and heading into the shrine. You can see that a lot of people showed up here, either with their partner or with a big group of friends. "What are you looking forward to Rise?" you ask her. "Well, I am going to be start being a idol again, so there's that, but I'm really looking forward to spending more time with you!" she says. "What about you Senpai?" she asks. "Well, I am really looking forward to spending more time with you as well, but I am also looking forward to catching up with Kure." you tell her. "That's some pretty great things to look forward to. Especially the first one!" she says, laughing softly. You briefly glance over at the clock, noticing it's 23:59. All the people start counting down from 10, so you and Rise do so as well. While doing so, Rise gets closer to you and points at her lips. You can kinda guess what she wants to do. As the countdown gets to about 2, you lean in to kiss Rise, your lips touching hers just as the countdown ends. After a couple more seconds, you break the kiss, looking around only to see people staring at you and then applauding. They must've been watching you the entire time. You glance over at Rise and notice that she is very flustered, rushing over and hiding her face in my chest. Slowly, the people leave and the shrine is practically empty except for you two. "T-That was quite embarrassing." Rise says, blushing. "Yeah. Caught me by surprise too." you say. "Well, since it's New Year's, my grandma has a special menu. If you're hungry, let's go there and try it out." she says. "That sounds great." you say, heading towards the shop with Rise.

It's time for the skiing trip you'll be going on with Rise and Kure. You've had this planned for a while, and have really been looking forward to it. Especially since Rise will be leaving once school is over. She spoke to her manager and talked about going back into showbiz, and she has her first comeback show in April so she needs to go back in March to prepare for it. You've been spending a lot of time with her since then, trying your best to make the best out of the little time you still have with her. You and Kure are practicing some skiing while waiting for Rise. "Have you done this before?" you ask him. "No. But seems I'm pretty good at it!" he says, speeding up. Not wanting to be undone, you speed up aswell. You haven't done this either, but after a little practice, it all seems really natural to you. The both of you quickly reach the bottom of the hill and decide to spend some time down there to relax. "How about that girl? You still working on her?" you ask him. He has known about your relationship with Rise for a while now and he's been really supportive about it. He kept saying stuff like he had no chance with her but you think that if his personality back then was the same as it is now, you might actually have been fighting to secure Rise for yourself. "It's going alright. Gonna ask her out to the movies soon." he says. "How about you? Have you and Rise done it yet?" he asks, getting a mischievous smile on his face. As he says that, you quickly look around, making sure that Rise is nowhere nearby. "The hell are you saying!" you exclaim, a little louder than you planned for. "She's going away soon right? You've gotta make sure you at least do that before she goes away and who knows when you'll see her again." he says. He does raise a good point. You've had plenty of chances up until now, but you just haven't had the courage yet. You make a mental note to yourself that you need to try and do that as soon as possible. "Scoring it with a idol? Dude, you're lucky as hell." he says, punching my arm slightly. "What's this about scoring?" you hear Rise's voice behind you, which startles you. You're too startled to even say anything. "Oh, don't worry about it. Have you went skiing before?" Kure asks, quickly changing the conversation and saving the situation. You owe him one. "Well, I have been to a ski resort a couple times, but I've never been too good at it." she says humbly. "Well, let's go practice then. Come on tomato face!" he says, motioning me to follow. His little remark makes Rise laugh a little, which I'm happy for. We climb up the hill again and Kure goes ahead and does some practice on his own, while I do some practice with Rise. You take things slow and make sure to explain everything to her in the best way you can. Before long, she seems to have no trouble skiing. "Wow Senpai! You're such a good teacher!" she says, looking very excited. "I guess. This all new to me too though." you reply. You keep on teaching her until she's more comfortable with it and decide to go and ski around with Kure.

It's the day that Rise is supposed to go back to the city for her career in showbiz. You've been dreading this day ever since you first heard about it. Apparently she'll come to visit every once in a while and try her best to have shows around this area, but you still can't help but feel sad. You're at the train station waiting for her. You got here a little bit earlier than you were supposed to, but you couldn't really sit still. Eventually, you can see Rise along with her grandma and a couple of luggage bags slowly make their way to the station. Once they are in front of you, her grandmother gives you a bow. "Thank you so much for taking care of Rise for the past couple months. She always talks about you and how supportive you have been with her." she says. "It was my pleasure." you say, smiling. "Well, I shall leave you two alone. I have already said my goodbyes to Rise." she says, going towards Rise and hugging her, before going back to her shop. This just leaves you and Rise all alone. "Well, this is it..." you say. After that, you and her sit there in silence for a while, until Rise runs up to you and hugs you really tightly, while sobbing. "I'll miss you so much Senpai! It'll be so boring without you!" she says, her sobbing becoming louder. "It's okay Rise. I'll be here whenever you come back. We can still talk on the phone. It won't be long until we see each other again." you say, trying your best to calm her down, also trying your best not to cry. "I'll never forget about you Senpai. You are the first person to ever love me for who I am. I will always be thinking of you." she says, still sobbing. "So will I, Rise. You'll forever be in my heart." you tell her. After a while, her sobbing stops and she lets go of you. "My debut will be in April. Make sure you'll watch it. I'll be trying my best for you!" she says, smiling and wiping her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll never miss any of your shows." you reassure her. "When you see me smiling, smile as well Senpai, because I'm doing it for you." she says. She glances at the time and goes back to get her luggage. "The train should be here any minute now." You help her with most of it, going inside the station to wait for the train. You and Rise sit down on a bench, and she rests her head on your lap. "I guess this is the last time I'll get to do this." she says, giggling. "Don't worry, when you're back, you can use my lap as much as you want." you say. "I'll make sure to monopolize it Senpai!" she says. "This is so comfortable. I feel like I can lay here forever." she says, smiling up at you. You smile back and gently rub her head. After a while, you can hear that the train is approaching. "It's time sweetheart." you tell her gently. She gets up and we head towards the train that just arrived. You help her load the luggage in the train. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." you tell her. "Take care Senpai." she says, going up to me and giving me a kiss on the lips. You want this moment to last forever, but sadly, it only lasts a couple seconds. She steps back and slowly gets on the train, and after a couple moments, you can see her waving at you from behind the train window. You stare at each other while smiling until the train slowly begins accelerating. You run after the train, while waving to Rise. She smiles throughout the whole thing and waves back. Eventually, you are unable to run after the train anymore so you stop. You stand there for a little longer, looking at the train until it's out of sight. As you walk home, you get a text from Rise. "I love you Senpai! 3" is what it says. "Love you too! 3" is what you reply with.

Thank you for reading my fanfiction! It's been a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it! This is my first fanfiction that I released, so any feedback is useful, whether it's positive or negative. I know that this chapter was a little short compared to the other ones, but I didn't want to drag this story out longer than it needed to be, which I feel I have done regardless. I may do some more fanfictions in the future, so if you have any suggestions, you can tell me and I might write about it! Thank you again and see you all next time!


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